Unexpected Blizzard
by MystiiriousAbnormality
Summary: Naruto and Ino are stuck in a cave due to bad weather, will they get along? NaruIno...I redid parts of it because i wasn't to happy about it. Probably doesn't need the T rating, but W/E.


**I do not own Naruto**

Unexpected Blizzard

I rewrote parts of this and added some to it, I didn't like how I played it, and I'm still not to pleased with it...

* * *

Here they are, two shinobi from Konoha, stuck in a cave due to the intense blizzard outside. It had been clear all day, then, out of the blue the storm came, it got immensely colder also. Ino only spotted the cave out of the corner of her eye, and quickly yelled at Naruto to follow her; they wouldn't be able to find their way through the falling snow. If she hadn't found it, they would have both most likely died from the intense cold.

"Well…thanks for spotting this…" Naruto said, walking in a bit and sitting at one of the walls.

"Yea….whatever…" she scoffed; sitting on the opposite side of him, about twenty feet away, for it was a relatively large cave. Naruto crossed his arms and aimlessly stared out of the cave into the wall of snow. Ino followed his gaze and curled up for warmth, the cave was getting colder, and colder.

/

Forty seven minutes earlier.

Kakashi and Asuma were sent to a village bordering the land of fire, and unfortunately, it was winter, but it was also relatively warm. It was only considered winter, because, on very rare occasions, it happened to get stormy, and these storms were horrendous. The two teams were to locate a missing-nin, and a very dangerous one at that. Sakura was paired with Shikamaru, which neither one of them were too happy about. Kakashi and Asuma both went by themselves, Chouji and Sai were in a group, and Ino and Naruto were put together. Ino was furious at first, and Naruto seemed to be a little irritated at the pairing.

They had all split up in search of the missing-nin, what Ino and Naruto didn't realize, is that they were supposed to head back fifteen minutes ago, and now, it started to get really stormy. The two hadn't talked at all for the duration, from the village, up until Ino yelled for Naruto to follow her.

/

Ino now found herself looking back at Naruto, she knew that she didn't like him; she couldn't see why Shikamaru, Choji, Sai, or Sakura were his friends. Then again, she didn't know anything about him, except that he was an only child, and in the academy, was a loser that everyone picked on. She really didn't know anything. Now however, he had a handful of good friends, people had begun to respect him, and since he came back from training with Jiraiya more than a year ago, he has matured a bit. He was also taller, and had become more muscular, you could tell this just looking at him, even if he had his jacket on. She looked at his face; he had gotten pretty handsome too. She shook her head and turned back to the snow.

Ino started to shiver; the cold taking its toll, Naruto had noticed and got up. She watched as he walked over to her and placed his jacket around her, the warmth of his body being transferred to her by this jacket, she stopped shivering almost immediately. She looked at him in utter confusion as he walked to the entrance of the cave. 'Why would he do that?' she asked herself.

"Where are you going?" she asked in a yell.

"To find some wood…we need to get a fire started." He replied, with no real emotion.

"It's freezing, and with the blizzard, you might not be able to find your way back."

"Would you really care if I didn't come back?" he asked her as he finally left the cave. These last words made her eyes widen and lips part. Why would he say that, did he really think that she hated him that much? She was shocked that he would ever say something like that. She began to feel sad that he thought of her that way, she didn't know why she felt that way either.

Almost an hour later, Naruto still hadn't returned, and she was getting worried. She got up and walked over to the entrance of the cave, she could only see about ten feet in front of her. 'Oh no…' she thought.

"Naruto." She started yelling out, hoping that he would hear her.

She waited a minute and yelled again, "Naruto."

"Yea, yea…I'm coming…" she heard, then she saw him and a few clones carrying a good sized bundle of wood with them.

"Where have you been?" she questioned him in concern. Naruto only looked at her in confusion.

"I….was getting fire wood like I said…"

"Then why did it take you so long?" she questioned again, almost yelling at him as he dropped some wood and started to make the fire, having his clones make a separate pile.

"I got lost….and heard your voice, so thanks….but why are you yelling?" he questioned her, still a bit confused.

She was shocked, he was lost, and only found his way because of her, he could have died.

"Well….don't do that again….Shikamaru and Sakura wouldn't get off my back if you died, and I was freezing, so hurry up and get the fire started." She said, turning from him.

"Yea….whatever…"

She turned to him in frustration, but didn't say anything, she only lay down next to the fire, having placed a blanket down to lay on. Naruto did the same, and after a few minutes the two were sound asleep.

/

The next morning Ino woke up, she was surprised to see that Naruto was already gone. But the blizzard hadn't let up at all; she began to feel panic overcome her. She ran to the entrance of the cave.

"Naruto…" she yelled out, trying to find him.

"Ughhh…..why are you yelling…." She heard and turned to the voice, it was him, sitting on a small ledge to her left.

"What are you doing?" she questioned furiously.

"I saw a small river yesterday, just over there, so I got us some fish…you can have some if you want." He told her, handing her a stick with a cooked fish on it. She looked at it, it was very unappetizing, but she needed to eat, so she took it sat down a few feet away from him.

"Thanks…" she said in a soft tone, Naruto didn't say anything and only continued to eat his fish.

Once they were done, they entered the cave again; Ino sat down next to the fire, Naruto walked towards the back of the cave. She glanced over every once in a while to see him and a good amount of clones performing techniques, Naruto always liked to train, to become stronger.

She started to think of the days at the academy, how she always picked on him, made fun of him, scolded him for no real reason. She sighed and turned to the entrance of the cave, watching the snow fall.

She didn't know how long it had been, but she finally snapped out of her daze when Naruto walked into her view. He was breathing heavily, obviously exhausted, and walked to a point just inside the cave, sat against the wall and closed his eyes. She continued to watch him as he slept.

It was a few hours later when he finally woke up, she had been lying near the fire pampering her hair. Naruto had made a clone and was playing some sort of card game; she was surprised that he hadn't even bothered to ask her to play. She sighed and continued to fix her hair, wondering how much longer the storm would last, but deep down inside, a small voice wished that it would never stop. The two still hadn't had any real conversation; she didn't think Naruto was like this, he usually always talked to people.

The rest of the day went by much the same, they didn't really talk much, and they kept their distance from one another. She kept asking herself why he disliked her so much. However, when the time came to sleep again, she put her blanket a bit closer to his than the previous night, he only turned from her and was soon fast asleep.

/

The next morning, Naruto was sitting up, looking at the fire eating one of his rations. He looked over at Ino when she woke up; he placed one of the rations next to her, but didn't say anything. She looked at him quickly before giving her attention to the ration, picking it up, sighing, and opening it.

"It's not that bad." She heard him say, surprised that he actually said something.

"It's not that…I shouldn't be eating stuff like this since I'm on a diet." She watched as he turned to her, looking her over with furrowed brows, then turning back to the fire, a confused look on his face.

"If you say so…"

"What's that supposed to mean." She asked, getting offended. Naruto only looked at her for a second before turning back again.

"Never mind…."

Ino just glared at him, furious at his statement, but decided it wouldn't be worth it to fight about it in a situation like this. She just huffed and walked towards the entrance of the cave to eat. Naruto was surprised by her reaction, but didn't want to bother her about it, so he kept to himself. One of his clones had gone out to get some more fire wood, and another to find some more fish for later on. Once both of them got back, Naruto released them and put some more wood on the fire. Ino had walked over and took a seat a few feet away from him, Naruto didn't look at her, keeping his attention on the fire.

"Naruto…why do you hate me so much?" she asked, and he could see that her face had saddened.

"Why would you care how I feel about you?" he asked, emotionless. She frowned, 'So he does hate me…'

"I don't know…" she replied, looking to the ground.

"Well….I don't hate you…not even close." She looked up at him, "But with the way you always treat me, I assumed you hated me, so I pretended to act the same way….now that I think about it….it's pretty stupid…" he started to chuckle.

"Why would I hate you?"

He looked at her in confusion, "Ugh…well…you never talk to me, you always try and ignore me at the village, and on missions as much as possible, I always catch you glaring at me whenever we cross paths. Um…I actually can't think of anything else…." He said, lowering his head.

"Oh…." She simply replied, looking back down also. 'I don't hate him…he's just…annoying, and….' She couldn't think of any real reasons to dislike him.

He started to chuckle again, "Sakura told me one time that during the chunin exams, you said that I was cute…I started laughing, I couldn't stop…."

"I did say that…" she said softly, and turned away from him.

Naruto immediately stopped laughing; "Oh…" he said and looked back out of the entrance.

"I guess…I don't talk to you because I don't know you…and…believe it or not…I'm actually shy when it comes to meeting new people. Not that you're a stranger or anything….I just don't know you very well." She looked at him again, and he was looking at her.

"Ah…I never talked to you because I thought you would kill me if I tried…" he laughed again. She smiled at his silly remark.

"I asked your boyfriend why you hated me so much, but he didn't have an answer." He said, looking to the floor.

"BOYFRIEND??" she yelled out. Naruto looked up to her in surprise. "Whose my boyfriend?" she asked angrily.

"Isn't it…Shikamaru?" He asked, she only started to laugh at that.

"No….why would you say that."

"Well…you always hang out, and laugh with each other, and it just seems like you two are a couple." He explained.

"Phfft….the same could be said for you and Sakura….but you two aren't going out…are you?" she asked that last part in a nervous tone.

"No…..huh…I haven't like Sakura like that for a while…I realized that it was just a stupid crush…" he said, smiling.

"Yea…same goes for Sasuke….it was just some dumb schoolyard crush…" they laughed together for a while.

Their conversation ended there as the two looked at the fire, now feeling a little bit more comfortable being around one another. Ino caught Naruto looking over at her every now and then out of the corner of her eye. Everytime he would look away, a smile crept up on her face. Naruto had once again decided to play cards with a clone, and Ino sighed when he didn't bother to ask her to play. A few hours passed, and now it was getting darker gain, time for dinner, and rest had come quickly that day.

After Naruto cooked the fish and the two ate, he went outside to relieve himself, Ino did the same after he came in, shivering. When she finally came back into the warm cave, she was also shivering, and noticed that he was already sleeping. She frowned, she would have liked to talk to him again, but she wasn't about to wake him up for that. So she got under her blanket, laid on her little mat that they used to sleep, and closed her eyes.

/

Both of them got up at relatively the same time, and Naruto had started eating one of his rations, Ino had also, reluctantly taken out one of hers and began to eat. They didn't talk at all, and Naruto went off to train again. She didn't see him again until around lunch time. So Naruto walked to the fire, breathing heavily, and sat down to eat some fish.

Ino thought of a question she wanted to ask him for a long time now, "So…why do you want to become Hokage so much?" she asked.

Naruto just looked at the ground for a minute, then he sighed, "Well….it's just….I want people to recognize me, to realize that I'm not what is sealed inside me, that I'm a person. I've always been alone, ever since I can remember; I didn't even have any friends until I was teamed up with Sasuke. I hated it, I hated people criticizing me, hating me, despising me, and I didn't even know why. So if I became Hokage, then they would be forced to like me, or at least not talk badly about me." During his little speech, Ino had begun to stare at him intently, she was sad, she had no idea how he felt. Then he continued, "I mean…it's not like I wanted the nine-tails to be part of me, but, I wouldn't have it any other way. Because it makes me different, unique, it makes me feel like I'm special in some way. And it doesn't control me, it's just there, and I can use it when I need to."

She frowned, "Naruto…I'm sorry for how people used to treat you…I'm sorry for how I used to treat you." She said, starting to slightly tear up.

Naruto chuckled, "Don't worry about it Ino…in some ways…it made me stronger I guess."

There was a long silence before she finally said something, "Naruto….could we start over?" she asked nervously.

"Huh?" he questioned in complete bafflement.

"Can we forget about our past, and start now, as friends?" she asked looking up to him with a sad expression, he smiled.

"Sure…that would be great." He said.

She smiled at him and told him about how her and Sakura had become friend/rivals, and how now, they were the very best of friends. She also told him about her family, and how she liked flowers, and how she loved working at the flower shop when she wasn't on missions. Naruto told her about his two years away from the village, and all the crazy adventures he went on. She liked listening to him; he calmed her down, almost made her feel happy during this depressing time in the chilly cave.

They had been talking and laughing for almost two hours now. "Naruto….just out of curiosity…have you ever had a girlfriend?"

He chuckled, "I think you know the answer to that Ino…"

She frowned, "Yea…I guess I do…but if it makes you feel any better, I've never had a boyfriend…"

"Lies won't make me feel any better Ino…" he said teasingly.

"I'm not lying…." She said sternly.

"Really….that's hard to believe."

"And whys that?" she asked, getting mad.

"Well….you might be overbearing sometimes, and bossy, and mean on occasion…." She was now fuming, "But you can be nice and thoughtful sometimes, and you're pretty…" he said, blushing a bit.

At his last words she calmed down completely, and noticing his blush, she blushed herself, "You really think I'm pretty?" she asked softly.

"Of course…" he replied. She smiled and looked to the ground.

"Well….to let you know….the reason I glared at you isn't because I didn't like you….it's because I thought you were cute….and didn't want you to see me just looking at you…" she said nervously.

Naruto chuckled again, "Well it worked…" she chuckled with him for a minute.

"Why don't you ask Hinata out…she's liked you for a while now?"

"Really…Well, that wouldn't work out…"

"Why not?"

"Because….I like someone else." He told her.

"And who would that be?" she asked.

"I'm not entirely sure that's any of your business." He replied teasingly.

She huffed, "Fine…whatever."

"And what about you….Choji's had his eye on you for a while now."

Ino shivered, "Yea….I realized…let's just say…he's not my type, and, I also like someone else."

"I'm guessing that it's none of my business." He smiled.

"Yup." She smiled back at him.

A few minutes passed before Naruto yawned, "I wonder how long this storm will last…"

"Yea…" Ino said in a sad tone. Naruto didn't notice, and only looked out the entrance.

"Let's hope not any time soon…I like getting to know you." He said with a bright smile.

She looked at him wide eyes, but managed to smile. 'He likes being here with me?' she asked herself.

For the rest of the day, they talked about the past some more, told more stories and the such. Naruto had gone to get some more fire wood and some food for dinner, and for when they wake up. It was now getting dark, so they decided to head to sleep.

As she was lying under her blanket, she couldn't help but realize just how all of her friends had become Narutos friends so easily. They had only really had one conversation, and they were immediately comfortable around one another, and a second conversation opened them up to a new friendship.

/

It was now the third day they were to spend in the cave and the blizzard hadn't let up one bit. Today, however, after breakfast, Naruto had asked Ino if she wanted to play cards, and she happily accepted, being bored out of her mind and all. They played for a while, hours probably, and they told stories during the card game, making each other laugh. She was actually glad that the storm came, for if it hadn't, Naruto may have never become her friend. But the thing was, now that started to know him a bit, something clicked, 'I…like him…' she thought, smiling, she continued the game and they shared more stories.

Naruto had never really known Ino that much, and he didn't know anything about her. That is, until now, and he liked her personality, not the one she puts up for people she doesn't know, or just walking around, but the personality she uses when it's just her, and a friend.

She smiled, "Just to let you know, the only reason I never talked to you was because I was afraid that you hated me."

"Well…now we both know why we wouldn't talk to each other." He chuckled, she only watched him with a warm smile, and looked back at her hand of cards.

After another few hours, it was once again time to sleep, only problem was, it got cold. Not just a little cold, cold as in, your eyes would freeze over cold. So they both got as close to the fire as possible without getting to hot, but it still wasn't enough, at least not for Ino.

"Naruto…my back is freezing…." She whined.

"Well what do you want me to do about it?" he questioned her.

"I don't know…"

Naruto sighed and got up; he walked over to his pack and took out an extra blanket. He walked up behind her and gently put the extra blanket over her, she smiled, "Thank you…" she said in a tone that made Naruto laugh.

"Yea…no problem."

/

The next morning was no different from the others; it was quiet as they ate. They still weren't one-hundred percent comfortable being around one another, maybe because they were new to each other, or maybe there was a different reason. Today, Naruto didn't play cards; he just sat against the wall of the cave near the entrance, and looked out to the falling snow.

"Hey…its calming down." He called over to her.

"Oh…that's good news." She said, smiling. She liked getting to know Naruto, but she hadn't showered in days, and it was making her feel like she was gross.

Just then, they heard a familiar voice, "Shikamaru, I found them…"

They both turned, "Sakura?" asked Naruto in surprise.

"Yea…me and Shikamaru were sent to find you since the storm died down, and one of Kakashi's dogs tracked you to this area." She said, walking into the cave.

Shikamaru entered and walked up beside her with a bored expression. "Well it took you long enough." Naruto teased.

"Yea, yea, just be glad we came." She said, joking around.

Naruto had gotten up and grabbed his stuff, put out the fire and walked to the entrance of the cave. Ino had also gotten her stuff ready and walked up to him, Sakura and Shikamaru were outside the cave, calling Kakashi's dog.

"You know Naruto…the only reason that I ignore you a lot…is because…I like you." She said and blushed, jumping down next to Sakura quickly. Naruto stood there in surprise, but smiled and jumped over to Shikamaru.

After they started back to Kakashi and the others, Sakura had started talking to Ino, "So….how was it." She asked.

"What?" Ino questioned in confusion.

"You spent almost five days with him….you must have hated every minute of it…I've seen how you look at him." She said.

"Oh…well…at first we didn't talk and basically ignored each other….but then we started talking about stuff….and now…we're friends." She smiled.

Sakura gasped, "Really….you can call yourself Naruto's friend….i thought you hated him…"

"Well…he's easy to get along with…I can see why all of you became friends with him so easily."

"Well…that's true; he is really easy to get along with."

"And since you're my friend…I should tell you…I never really hated him…I actually thought he was cute…and now…I like him." She said with a warm smile as she quickly looked back at him, who was mumbling to Shikamaru.

"Wow…so Ino isn't as shallow as I thought." Sakura teased.

"Hey…watch what you say around me forehead…."

/

That same day, they had all arrived back at their village and reported to Tsunade. Over the next few days, Naruto hadn't spoken to, or even seen Ino. So he decided to find her, he started at the most likely place, which she happened to be at.

He entered the flower shop, "Hey Naruto." Ino said, happy to see her new friend.

"Where have you been hiding these past few days?" asked Naruto teasingly.

She smiled, "Here and there."

He walked up to the counter, "I was wondering….um…would you…." Ino could tell he was really nervous.

"Naruto…what is it?"

"Do you want to go…maybe get some lunch or something?" he asked, looking to the floor. Ino was surprised by his question, but smiled.

"Sure….how about the salad bar?" she asked, knowing he didn't like salad very much.

He frowned, "Yea…that's fine."

She giggled, "Well then meet me there in an hour." She said.

He smiled and turned around, "An hour it is." And he walked out of the flower shop, feeling relieved that she said yes. Ino herself was still smiling, starting to daydream about him, which she had been doing anyway.

/

The hour had passed and Naruto was waiting patiently at the salad bar. Ino was running late, there was a rush right when she was supposed to meet him, and her parents asked that she stay for a few more minutes. So just when Naruto was about to get up and leave, he was gently shoved back down into his seat.

"Just where do you think you're going?" he heard someone say in a teasing tone.

"Oh…Ino…" he said surprised.

"Yea…sorry but my parents made me stay to help out a bit longer…." She said, frowning and taking her seat next to him.

"Don't worry about it." He said, smiling at her.

They got their salads and began to eat. "I didn't think you liked salad." Ino said.

"Well….I usually don't eat it, but I don't mind it." He replied.

"Oh…I eat it because of my diet." Naruto chuckled and continued to eat. "What's so funny?" she asked getting annoyed.

"Nothing…it's just…you always talk about a diet…but you don't need to be on a diet…you can eat normally and still look amazing." He said, filling his mouth with food, surprised that he said that out loud. Ino was just looking at him, 'Amazing? He thinks…' she blushed and looked back at her food.

"Well I'm sticking with it…it's also healthier than eating all the meats and ramen you guys eat…" she replied.

"I guess that's true…"

"Ino…Naruto?" they heard a voice. Both of them turning around to see a dumbfounded Tenten.

"Oh…hey Tenten." Ino waved over to her.

Tenten walked over to them, "Are you two…"

"No…we're just having lunch." replied Naruto not turning to see her.

"Sure…" she replied.

"No…that's really all it is." reassured Ino.

"Whatever you say…" then Tenten walked off.

Ino was looking back at her food, 'Just lunch….'

They were about to leave as well, but Ino grabbed Naruto's shoulder before he could walk off. "Hey Naruto…do you…maybe want to…I don't know, go see a movie or something tonight?" she asked nervously.

Naruto smiled, "Sure….sounds like fun." He said and walked down the street. "What time?" he asked.

"How's eight?"

"Awesome…I'll meet you there." He said. She couldn't see, but he had the happiest smile on his face that he ever had. And she was smiling also, she was just happy that he said yes.

/

For tonight, Ino got out of work early and went upstairs to her room. She took a nap so that she wouldn't be thinking about it for the rest of the day. Naruto had decided to do the same, he was nervous, but excited at the same time.

When the time came, both of them met up, picked out a movie together, and entered, finding some seats in the back. After a few minutes, the movie started, and Ino slowly moved her hand to his, and grabbed a hold of it. Naruto gently held onto it, she looked up, and saw a warm smile on his face. Almost halfway through the movie, she leaned her head on his shoulder.

That's as far as it went during the movie, she was a bit disappointed, but also appreciated that he was willing to be patient. Naruto walked her back to her house, holding her hand. They talked about the movie and other movies they liked. They laughed, waking a few people up, but they didn't care. When Naruto finally got to her house, she stood at the door facing him. He slowly leaned in, pausing only centimeters away. Ino closed her eyes, and her heart started pounding at an insane speed, then she felt them, his lips on hers. After she had started to kiss him back and wrap her arms around his neck, he sucked on her upper lip for a while, before pulling away. He blushed and turned his head.

"Sorry Ino…I…"

Ino giggled, "Don't be…" she said as she opened the door and walked in. "I liked it…" and with that, she closed the door. Naruto smiled, put his hands in his pockets, and walked down the street.

* * *

Reviews are always appreciated...good and bad. I might decide to expand upon this with a sequel, but who knows.

My next fic will probably be the sequel to _New to Relationships_. Since I'm to bored with my one piece fics to finish any of them.


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